“Craig Hart is a suitably imposing and charismatic Don Juan…with his large, dark bass sound and psychological approach to the music, Hart made a convincing case.”
– New jersey Star Ledger
For more than a decade bass Craig Hart has enjoyed singing on the operatic and concert stages of North America. His engagements have been with such companies as the Metropolitan Opera, L'Opera de Montreal, Palm Beach Opera, Cleveland Opera, Nashville Opera, Toledo Opera, Connecticut Opera, Shreveport Opera, Opera Idaho, Boston Bel Canto Opera, and Opera at Florham. His performances have consistently earned him the respect and accolades of discerning critics and many return engagements. This charismatic bass has mastered more then 40 roles in his repertoire, among them King Phillip II of Spain, Mephistopheles, Don Giovanni, Count Walter, Colline, Sparafucile, Raimondo, Daland, Sarastro, Hunding and Collatinus .
Mr. Hart’s opened the 2006-2007 season as Don Giovanni for the Opera Company of North Carolina, followed by Timur in Turandot with Boheme Opera in Trenton, Sparafucile in Rigoletto for the Santa Barbara Opera, Silva in Ernani with the Indian Wells Desert Symphony in Palm Springs, Sarastro in Die Zauberflöte for the Portland Opera, and Don Basilio in Il barbiere di Seviglia for PORTOpera in Maine. He closes the season as Timur at Opera North. Future engagements include Sparafucile for the Greensboro and Sarastro for Lyric Opera of Kansas City.
In 2005-2006, Mr. Hart was heard as Simone in Connecticut Opera’s March 2006 production of Gianni Schicchi, in Verdi's Messa da Requiem with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra, Haydn’s Creation with the Gordon College Symphony Orchestra, in recital as a part of the Thompson Chamber Music Series in Wenham, Mass and for The Music Series at South Church, New Britain, CT. In 2004-2005 Mr. Hart was heard in the title role of Gianni Schicchi and as Olin Blitch in Carlyle Floyd’s Susannah for the Hartt Opera Theatre, sang the title role of Mendelssohn’s Elijah for the Gordon College Orchestra, Vaughn Williams Dona Nobis Pacem with the Northwest Symphony Orchestra in Seattle, a solo recital on the Howard Music series of Andrew University, and appeared in a concert of excerpts of the sacred opera I am the Way for Tele Saluto in Rome. Mr. Hart’s debut in the role of Christ was broadcast the morning of and preceding the funeral of Pope John Paul II. The late Jerome Hines chose Mr. Hart to succeed him in the role that was created and performed exclusively by Mr. Hines.
Craig Hart made his Metropolitan Opera stage debut in the production of Prokofiev's War and Peace as the Second Madman in the spring of 2002.